Allentown, PA (April 6, 2024) - The DeSales University men's outdoor track & field competed at the Muhlenberg College Invitational at Scotty Wood Stadium on Saturday.
Beginning on Friday afternoon in the hammer throw, sophomore
Jonathan Eudja set another personal best to notch a third-place finish with a throw of
47.81m. Eudja moved up to ninth on the all-time list with his performance. Sophomore
Giovanni Wellington also took sixth in the event with a throw of
39.59m.
Then, kicking off a windy Saturday in the 3000-meter steeple, first-year
Joey Wilson made his debut in the event, placing third overall with a time of
9:58.42. Senior
Tim Connell placed sixth with a time of 10:06.85. Both athletes qualified for the Middle Atlantic Conference championship with their efforts.
The 4x100 meter relay team consisting of first-year
Colin Marsh and seniors
Kyle Dunbar, Xavier Phoenix, and
Logan Berner then stole the show, taking first place overall with a time of
42.60. It was the second fastest time in school history, and .09 seconds from the school record. With their performance, the team qualified for AARTFC regional championship in the relay.
Shifting to the 100-meter dash, Marsh came back to run an
11.42, good for seventh overall and hitting the conference qualifying standard for the event. First-year
Nicholas Wolff also set a personal best in the event with a time of
13.14 (27
th overall).
In the 1500-meter, senior
Shane Artis took fourth place overall with a time of
4:04.27. Sophomore
Jordan Gallo (27
th – 4:42.84) and first-year
Chase Curry (28
th – 4:52.11) also set personal bests in the event.
Moving to the 400-meter, Phoenix came back to set a personal best and qualify for the conference championship with a time of
52.16, placing third overall. First-year
Bryce Guthier also set a personal best, taking seventh place with a time of
54.98.
Onto the 800-meter, graduate student
Carl Tyce made his spring track debut and placed fourth overall with a time of
1:57.35. Junior
Josh Deremer also made his spring track debut, taking seventh overall with a time of
2:00.96. Both athletes hit the qualifying mark for the conference championship in the event. First-year
Jozef Callano also took ninth overall (
2:02.26), and sophomore
Patrick Smith set a big personal best of
2:11.85 (29
th place).
In the loaded 200-meter, senior
Logan Berner placed second with a time of
22.54. Senior
Vajon Wilson then took fifth place overall from the second heat with a time of
22.93. Sophomore
Tyler McCulloch also took seventh overall out of the second heat with a time of
23.27. Wilson and McCulloch both qualified in the conference championship in the event. Junior
Sam Estherson hit a personal best with a time of
23.98 (15
th overall) as well.
In the 5000-meter, senior
Dean Ricco placed seventh overall with a huge personal best in a time of
15:49.38. Graduate student
Tom Greve also hit a personal best with a time of
15:55.85 (11
th place). Both athletes qualified for the conference championship with their marks. A handful of other runners set personal bests in the event, including junior
Cody Smith (16
th overall –
16:29.19), sophomore
Antonio Rinaldi (20
th overall –
16:45.37), first-year
Jaden Parrish (21
st overall –
16:46.43), and first-year
Andrew Sidorski (22
nd overall –
16:55.63).
Wrapping up the events on the track, the 'A' 4x400-meter relay team took sixth place overall with a time of
3:36.40. The team consisted of Guthier (
55.20), McCulloch (
56.27), Callano (
53.47), and Tyce (
51.45). The 'B' team of Artis (
55.90), first-year
Lens Demosthene (
57.51), senior
Ben Phillippy (
54.14), and Wellington (
62.87) also took 12
th overall (
3:50.44).
Over in the field, sophomore
Brian Whitney kicked things off in the high jump, setting a personal best with a jump of
1.80m. He qualified for the MAC championship with his effort.
In the javelin throw, sophomore
Dane Watson took third place overall with a season best throw of
48.45m. Sophomore
Peter Skulski set a big personal best in route to a fourth-place finish with a throw of
44.58m.
At the long jump, graduate student
Sidney Walker set a personal best to notch a second-place finish with a jump of
6.82m. Phoenix then finished third place with a jump of
6.79m. First-year
Weston Simak set a personal best on his way to a fourth-place finish with a mark of 6.65m. Demosthene then took eighth place with a jump of
6.10m. All four athletes have now qualified for the conference championship in the event.
Turning over to the triple jump, Simak took first overall with a jump of
13.15m. Demosthene then set a personal best with a jump of
12.71m to take second overall, another MAC qualifying mark. Skulski also took eighth overall with a jump of
11.13m.
Other notable performances in the field include sophomore
Vincenzo Taormina finishing fifth in the pole vault with a mark of
3.05m and Wellington placing seventh in the shot put with a throw of
10.90m.
Now, the Bulldogs now have 27 athletes qualified for the conference championship back at Widener University in early May.
After a day filled with top performances, the Bulldogs will return home for a meet against Moravian University and Muhlenberg College on Saturday, April 13th.
